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Landscape photography is full of rich rewards and also has some real challenges. Learning time-saving tips for landscape photography will assist you in turning challenges, major or minor, into pleasing results.
Landscape photography, including all the subgenres of scenic photography such as cityscapes, ocean views, cloudscapes, panoramas, long exposure photography, astrophotography, and others, all generally require us as photographers to slow down. We do this in order to take control of the process.
photo by antonyspencer via iStock
Even though we take a deliberate approach to capturing the images, certain situations in landscape photography may push us to not waste time. Sunrises and sunsets, Golden Hour photography, Blue Hour photography, or storm photography may push us because of the possible rapid changes in exposure values or cloud movement.
Simplifying or streamlining our workflow makes sense for these types of time constraints. Learning to streamline our landscape photography workflow also aids us in allowing more thought to go toward the creative process of creating outstanding landscape images.
Table of Contents
- Previsualize Your Images
- Invest in a Quality Filter Holder System
- Use a Bubble Level
- Add a Ball and Socket QR Head to Your Tripod
- Get in the Habit of Batch Processing
- A Better Landscape Photography Workflow
Recommended Photography Reading
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- Read This if You Want to Take Great Photographs
Previsualize Your Images
One of the first steps to take in order to streamline our landscape photography workflow is to determine ahead of time what type of image you wish to create, perhaps even details about the end results.
How this helps is that it gives you a goal to shoot for which reduces guesswork. If it’s a place I’ve never been to before, I will use tools like Google Maps online or on my mobile device to get an idea of what might be available as spots to set up.
This step is a good habit for many types of photography from portraits, to weddings, to architecture, to any nature photography. With a clear plan of what you want to accomplish, you save time for implementing your techniques and methods.
Invest in a Quality Filter Holder System
Filters such as circular polarizers (C-POL) and graduated neutral density (GND) are virtually essential parts of our landscape photography gear bag. I like the filter holder systems for my own landscape photography filters.
A huge reason for my preference is the convenience of magnetic filter systems like the Haida M15 which eases my landscape photography workflow concerns. A filter holder system is already a good idea for any filters for landscape photography, the magnetic quick-release of the Haida M15 system makes it even more convenient to use in the field.
Since you only need to use one holder and one filter of each type for each lens you have, you aren’t carrying and changing filters for each different size filter diameter. Mounting the C-POL requires no screwing in, you just attach it to the holder and rotate it to achieve the polarization effect desired.
I already like the Haida M15 for the streamlined polarizer use, the GND filters from Haida also benefit from the magnetic holder system in order to streamline my landscape photography workflow with these amazing tools for adjusting the exposure values and dynamic range present in the scene.
You can double up on filters, too. A GND and a C-POL used together can tame some difficult exposure and contrast situations present in certain landscape views. Sliding and rotating the filters and holder allows for quick positioning of these extremely useful landscape photography filters.
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Use a Bubble Level
This one of the cheapest items in my landscape photography gear bag, but it saved me tons of time both in the field taking pictures and on my computer during post processing.
Sometimes I can’t quite see the difference visually as I’m taking the pictures, but being off level shows up prominently when I look at them on a larger screen. This requires extra time in post processing and is actually kind of annoying.
A cheap cube of plastic with a couple of spirit levels inside takes care of leveling out the camera in mere seconds. Obviously, I’m assuming you’re using a good tripod, too.
Add a Ball and Socket QR Head to Your Tripod
Tripods are another tool I consider as a must have in my landscape photography gear bag. In order to simplify my landscape photography workflow with this piece of equipment that guarantees I take a more deliberate approach, I have found that I prefer a heavy duty ball and socket head with a secure quick release (QR) mount.
A high quality heavy duty ball and socket head is fantastic for quality landscape photography since it makes adjustments as quick as twisting one lever or knob and moving your camera and lens in all axis at once. A heavy duty head will lock down tightly with large and heavy lenses like ultra wide angle zoom lenses.
A secure QR system makes it easy to mount and unmount your camera in an instant. This is a great feature when you suddenly see something needing outside of what you planned during the previsualization stage of your landscape photography workflow.
I don’t like to cheap out on the ball and socket head or the QR system, since I value the safety of my gear and I also need my camera to be as steady as possible for generating the sharpest images my camera and lens can produce.
Get in the Habit of Batch Processing
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After the field work is over is when I really go to work with landscape photography. Post processing is a photographic fact of life in order to produce the highest level of quality. I will usually be shooting my landscapes in RAW, so some sort of post processing is a necessity.
Presets and batch processing in programs such as Adobe Photoshop Lightroom speeds up general and basic adjustments for the entire photoshoot, enabling more time to be spent on the individual tweaks and changes to bring out the best from the image files.
photo by RossHelen via iStock
An image processing program that uses non destructive adjustments saves the most time, in my experience. The files our cameras generate are huge. Cycling through all the steps for each image seems to take forever.
Photoshop Lightroom and other post processing programs with non destructive editing allow editing sessions to be greatly speeded up compared to other programs. This is one of the time-saving tips for landscape photography I have come to value highly.
A Better Landscape Photography Workflow
Photo by Andre Furtado from Pexels
Deciding on implementing tips and techniques for improving our landscape photography workflow will serve to free up much more than time. It frees up creativity.
More creativity results in better landscape images - photos that will amaze and outstand yourself and others.
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